EHR revocation to have 'tremendous ramifications' on providers, vendors

The recent decertification of two EHRMagic products will have a huge impact on the industry and will require providers and vendors to take action to protect themselves, according to a recent legal alert by healthcare attorney Henry Fader of Philadelphia-based law firm Pepper Hamilton LLP.

The waters particularly are murky for providers who had purchased the now uncertified products, who may have to return an incentive payment to the government and will face challenges regarding the ability to attest to Meaningful Use in the future. According to Fader, those providers also should review their vendor contracts with EHRMagic to see what legal rights they may have now that the products don't meet the requirements of the Meaningful Use program.

But the revocation, he adds, leaves all EHR-users vulnerable, who now need to consider:

Whether they need to monitor the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's activities to see if their EHR products lose certification. ONC maintains a list of certified health IT products on its website

If they should set aside the incentive payments earned, in case they need to be returned

How well their vendor contract protects them from the potential loss of certification and if the contract needs to be re-negotiated

What's more, Fader says, vendors need to take steps to protect themselves in light of the decertification, by paying increased attention to customer complaints and determining what appeal rights they may have should their own products' certifications be revoked.

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